Temporary shelter structures are useful for a number of varied purposes. During construction projects, such structures may be used for protecting building materials from the elements. Other uses include camping, picnics, carnivals, exhibitions, outdoor parties, weddings, funerals, and the like. Desirable characteristics of such temporary structures are ease of setup and takedown, lightweight and compact components, and sometimes modular configurations for variations of use. In some cases, shelter structures of this type may be setup for emergency use, such as those involving the Red Cross, military, disaster, etc., or for virtually permanent use, such as patio or beach umbrellas.
Temporary structures include various types of tents made of canvas or synthetic based fabrics with internal or external support which may include tubular aluminum poles, wooden poles, glass fiber rods, or the like. Other types of shelters include frames made of tubular steel, lumber, and other materials. With the great majority of types of temporary shelter structure designs, both the support framework members and covering materials are specially formed for assembly only in one specific configuration.